Der Kronzeuge im Strafrecht

Cooperating witness regulations allow offenders to gain sentence reductions by assisting law enforcement. This creates a tension: while they help combat hard-to-prosecute crimes, especially organized crime, they raise fundamental constitutional and doctrinal concerns, as they affect core principles such as proportionality of punishment, legality, and equal treatment. The author examines, from both a doctrinal and empirical perspective, whether cooperating witness regulations are necessary and justified, identifies current weaknesses, and proposes a legally sound reform framework.